


OUAT, episode 4: ''The Golden Cage''

by Omorocca



Series: Once Upon a Time [3]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-07-12
Updated: 2012-07-12
Packaged: 2017-11-09 19:47:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,764
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/457704
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Omorocca/pseuds/Omorocca
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Story begun in the hiatus before 'The Return' but finished after the season finale... so it takes Rumbelle into consideration. However, it does not fit with how Rumpelstiltskin and Belle meet again in the finale.<br/>Not saying too much, I don't want to spoil.</p>
<p>I truly wish you like it, it's the first time I show my fanfictions to strangers. Feel free to comment whether you liked or not, but be respectful.<br/>Thank you</p>
            </blockquote>





	OUAT, episode 4: ''The Golden Cage''

Fanfiction

Characters © OUAT writers and producers

Mother Gothel and Rapunzel © Grimm

Rebecca, Dominic and original characters are mine

 

 

The old wooden house had never seen so much action. Just the addition of Dominic and the tick-tock of his cane had put some rhythm in its dead walls. But since the young Elizabeth French had moved in with them, the climate was that of a warm family cocoon. Rebecca and Dominic had worked a schedule so that one of them would always be home to keep Elizabeth company. Every day, Mr Gold called to see how they were doing, but he couldn’t come to the house. Elizabeth still wasn’t ready. She was still having nightmares about him, dreams that made no sense at all but scared her still.

 

One morning, Rebecca was washing the dishes with Elizabeth, when the doorbell rang. In the living room, Dominic paused his Braille reading, his finger still on the word, and heard carefully.

 

“High heels”, he said.

 

The two women looked at each other and Elizabeth quickly went to hide in her room, as Rebecca took the first object she could find to hold off the intruder. Followed by Dominic, who firmly held his cane, she went to open the door.

 

“Good morning, Miss Toren.”

“Madame Mayor, what brings you here?”

“Oh, you know very well why I’m here. We looked everywhere in town for Miss French, including this house… And then you moved back in, as if nothing had happened, _in the middle of the night_.”

“It’s been days. What are you accusing me of, now?”

“I know Miss French is here. Let me in.”

“Do you have a warrant?” The Mayor stayed silent, Rebecca smiled. “Then you are not welcome in my home.”

“You watch your mouth, Miss Toren. These grounds are still city property. As Mayor of Storybrooke, I can—”

“You can’t do anything, Rebecca answered abruptly. These grounds aren’t public property. Like most of this town, this land is propriety of my ex-husband, who also doesn’t want you here. Seriously, Regina, as mayor of Storybrooke, you should know where your powers end.”

 

This remark was enough for Regina to lose it. She took a step closer to Rebecca and looked at her straight in the eyes with all the menacing strength in the world. But the young Miss Toren stood her ground.

 

“I’ll be back with a warrant.”

“Good luck!”

 

Regina left, furious; but she had got what she wanted, the proof that she was right. She had seen it in Rebecca’s eyes: Elizabeth French was in this house and the mayor would put her back where she belonged.

 

On her way to her car, she saw Mr Gold coming. He had obviously witnessed the scene for he was smiling. She stared at him with anger.

 

“Don’t savour your victory just yet, Gold. As soon as Sheriff Swan gets her warrant, we’ll be back to rip this place apart.”

“I wouldn’t expect anything less from you, Regina.”

 

She wanted to reply, but he looked at her in such a way that she felt paralysed. Something was wrong; it was the same way Rebecca had previously looked at her. And he said: “Good luck!” in the same manner in which his ex-wife had said it. How could he have heard?

 

And he went on his way to the house, where Rebecca let him in.

 

“I’ll just let you through to the back door. You can’t stay here. She’s still not ready.”

“I know… I saw Regina’s car pull up and I just wanted to make sure you were all right.” He looked down at Rebecca’s hand. “What are you doing with a frying pan?”

 

She sighed and left a little laugh.

 

“I guess I thought I could fight her off if she came in.”

 

They both laughed as she let him through and closed the door of her mother’s fortress.

 

 

Sir Maurice’s castle

 

In the park by the castle, Belle was carelessly reading, more absorbed in her thoughts than in her book. It had been weeks now since she had returned home and she still couldn’t get over what had happened. Through the window of his room, her father looked at her.

 

“I don’t know what to do anymore… Twice this week, she left during the night to go drink in one of those pubs in town and only came back after the sunrise, crying. Her fiancé is still missing and she doesn’t seem to mind about him. It’s like _he_ sent her away but _he_ didn’t really let her go. This woman out there is not my daughter.”

“I have seen this before, said a woman’s voice behind him. There’s no doubt that he put a spell on her.”

 

Sir Maurice turned to face his interlocutor.

 

“What kind of spell? What do you mean?”

“He has seduced her, Regina answered, poisoned her mind. This man has already caused a lot of trouble in my kingdom; you don’t want him damaging your lands. Let me help you.”

“I don’t care about my lands, Your Majesty. All I want is for my daughter to be herself again. She’s my whole world… I never should have let her go with that, that beast!”

 

The Queen looked down, thinking of a solution, and looked back at the lord with concern, almost sympathy.

 

“Then I think I know what to do… It is a very dangerous procedure; however an extreme situation demands an extreme cure.”

“She can stand it. My Belle is strong. Whatever needs to be done to free her from his grasp, I’ll do it.”

“Then the first thing we need to do is isolate her.”

“What?”

“It’s only precautionary. So she doesn’t harm herself.”

 

 

 

A few moments later, Belle saw guards come from the palace. They were coming for her.

 

“What is it? What’s happening?”

 

Without a word for the daughter of their lord, they grabbed her and dragged her back into the castle. She resisted as much as she could, but wasn’t strong enough to make a difference. On their way, they met Sir Maurice. Belle stared at him with pleading eyes.

 

“Papa?... what are you doing? Papa?... PAPA!”

 

As they dragged her away, Belle’s father looked down in shame, feeling weak and disgusting. Behind him, Regina had a triumphant smile.

 

 

Storybrooke, Maine

 

Emma was working at her office since a very early hour, when Regina walked in. The Sheriff saw her and sighed.

 

“Regina, the warrant isn’t here yet. I called the District Attorney again this morning.”

“I know. I called him too. He just faxed it to me.”

 

She showed her the warrant, with a satisfied smile. Emma frowned.

 

“We barely have a case. What did you say to convince him?”

 

The mayor didn’t answer but had one of her smiles. Emma went on.

 

“You’re really happy about this, aren’t you?”

“As you should be, Miss Swan. Justice will be served.”

 

 

 

A few minutes later, the Mayor and the Sheriff were at the old house of Mrs Toren. Dominic had heard the car approach and he and Rebecca waited patiently outside for the search to be over. Regina had asked three of her trusted employees to help Emma with the search. They all left the house an hour after they went in, shaking their heads.

 

Regina’s anger resumed.

 

“Well?”

“Nothing, Emma answered. We searched everywhere.”

“Search it again. She is in here.”

“What is it, Regina?” asked the little sarcastic voice of Rebecca Toren. “ _Did you lose something?_ ”

 

Regina startled; Rebecca’s voice was different. Her tone was similar to a particular pawnbroker’s pesky remarks that always made her want to hit him. Speaking of the devil, Mr Gold was coming close to them, a worried look on his face.

 

“What is going on?” he asked Rebecca.

“Oh, our mayor just made Sheriff Swan search our home for Elizabeth; but she didn’t find her, of course. So now they’re leaving.”

“I see.”

“Oh, we’ll be back, Regina answered. Don’t you worry about that.”

“Well, unless you get a second warrant, which would be unlikely since you found nothing of value here to constitute the need for a second search, you will leave my clients alone, Regina. Otherwise, I will have to press charges.”

“You tell your ‘clients’ they better be careful, Gold, because the D.A. and I aren’t finished with them.”

“All right, you two, the Sheriff interrupted, that’s enough. The search is over, which means we have no more cause for being here. Let’s go.”

 

She showed Regina the way out of the driveway and waited until she and her ‘goons’ were out to apologize to Rebecca and Dominic.

 

“I’m so sorry about this.”

“It’s all right, Sheriff, Rebecca answered. You’re not responsible for Regina’s horrible behaviour. But if you don’t mind, we need to go back home now and start to clean up the mess her people made.”

“They didn’t make too much, I made sure of that.”

“Thank you.”

 

She shared a smile with Mr Gold and walked back into her house, with her boyfriend. Emma couldn’t help but notice it and it made her wonder.

 

“She couldn’t hide her away on such short notice, could she? So how did she keep Elizabeth in the house without us finding her?”

“Don’t underestimate Rebecca, Sheriff. She was raised by a paranoid single mother, after all. She doesn’t look like it, I know, but she could hide something in plain sight and convince us it’s not there.” He smiled enigmatically. “And we would probably believe her.”

 

 

 

Once inside, the first thing Dominic did was to lock the door, while Rebecca did the same with the back door and closed all the curtains of the windows. Then they both went to Mrs Toren’s room and pulled an enormous bookshelf. Behind it was a door that revealed a frightened Elizabeth and Rebecca’s friend Dean.

 

“It’s okay… They’re gone!”

 

 

Sir Maurice’s castle

 

Locked in a tower, Belle pounded her fists on the door until blood came out of her hands, screaming to whoever could hear to let her out. No one listened. She pounded four hours, until she was exhausted and then fell on the floor, crying.

 

“Rumpelstiltskin, she whimpered. I love you.”

 

Then, the door opened abruptly and three clerics entered the room. The poor woman began to panic.

 

“Who are you? What are you going to do to me?”

“Do not worry, My Lady. We are here to cleanse your soul.”

 

Everyone in the castle heard her screams when their ‘cleansing’ began. In his room, Sir Maurice cried. It was a necessary evil, he was certain. But he knew his daughter would never love him again after that.

 

 

 

A few hours later, the clerics left and an old woman walked into the tower unnoticed. At the top floor, she saw two men standing guard. She waved her hand and they both quickly fell asleep. Another wave of the hand and the door opened. The old hag entered the room where Belle was being kept prisoner and the door was closed and locked behind her.

 

 

 

In the Dark Castle, Regina had just come in to break the news to Rumpelstiltskin and savour her victory. Slowly, she began teasing him until he was so overwhelmed by his emotion that he couldn’t tell her lies from the truth.

 

“Her father shunned her. Cut her off. Shut her out.”

“So she needs… a home?”

 

There was hope in his eyes, a hope she was about to crush with pleasure. She took her time to savour it.

 

“He was cruel to her! He locked her in a tower and sent in clerics to cleanse her soul with… scourges and fling. After a while, she threw herself off the tower… She died.”

 

His eyes couldn’t hide his desperation any longer. And when he said “You’re lying”, it was more a hope than an accusation. She kept on bluffing.

 

“Am I?”

 

He couldn’t call it. So she had been right; he _was_ in love with Belle. Love prevented him from seeing the truth, from reading her mind or the future. She could use this to her advantage one day and—

 

“We’re done!”

 

It was definitive. And even in this troubled state of mind, the imp could still have the upper hand with her. She didn’t insist. Breaking his heart would suffice for today.

 

“Fine! I have other calls to make.” But then, she felt the desire for one final blow; a low one. “The place is looking dusty, Rumple… _You should get a new girl_.”

 

After that, she left him standing there with his pain, left the castle and magically transported herself to hers. A few minutes later, she was in the dungeons, casually walking towards one of the cells. Inside it, a very weak Belle stared back at her.

 

“Why did you do this?” she faintly asked.

 

The Queen smiled, but didn’t answer. This piece of victory was particularly enjoyable.

 

 

Storybrooke, Maine

 

After all the cleaning up was over, the strange family finally settled down to rest. Dean had left and Dominic had resumed his reading, slowly letting his fingers slide over the words. Watching him over her work, Rebecca was now knitting a pair of mittens that went with a scarf she had previously made. By her side on the couch, Elizabeth was dozing off on her book.

 

Dominic stopped reading and smiled.

 

“Becca, please. I can’t read with you staring at me like this.”

“Sorry.”

 

Rebecca smiled at him and went back to her knitting, while Elizabeth looked at them both with amused curiosity.

 

“How did you know she looked at you?”

“Oh, Dominic can feel when people look at him.”

“Well, he specified, I can feel Rebecca’s stare. I don’t know about other people.”

“I’m magic”, Rebecca joked.

 

It made them laugh, but then, Dominic paused and breathed harder.

 

“Do you smell that?”

“Smell what?”

“Fire.”

 

He got up and without his cane, using only his hands he went towards the direction of the smell. The two ladies followed him. The fire had just started in a cupboard, by the front door, and then an explosion blocked their path.

 

“Quickly, Rebecca said, through the back.”

 

They both took one of Dominic’s arms and ran to the back door. As Rebecca was about to open it, Dominic stopped her and backed up, holding the two women. He had smelled something else. A second later, the cupboard by the back door exploded as well, blocking their way out.

 

The fire from both sources was so intense that they couldn’t open a window without risking a bigger explosion.

 

“Quick, follow me!”

 

They followed Rebecca to her room on the second floor and closed the door. Elizabeth took the bed sheets Rebecca handed her, to isolate the door, while the couple opened the window. Outside, there was a little rusty gutter that seemed like a risky way down.

 

“It’s okay, I used it often to leave the house without my mom knowing.”

“I’ll go first, Dominic answered. If you fall, I can catch you.”

 

Quickly, he climbed out of the window and ran his hand on the wall to find the gutter. Once he had it, he grabbed it firmly and descended so fast, the two women were amazed. As if he had done it before.

 

Rebecca looked at Elizabeth.

 

“Your turn.”

“But, you should—”

“No time to argue. The fire should be in the kitchen now and my oven runs on gas.”

 

She helped her friend out and watched Elisabeth go down as fast as she could. When Elizabeth had almost reached the ground, Rebecca left her room, with one last glance at what had been her life for 28 years.

 

The gutter had held on until now, but with the weight of three adults, it began to shake when Rebecca grabbed it. She closed her eyes and began to descend. On the ground, Dominic heard the metallic sound and gasped. A second later, the gutter broke.

 

 

 

Emma’s car pulled in and she ran out to face the damages. The firemen were about to come and the flames were already consuming the house. This huge infernal light that made the night feel like day. She looked at it in terror hoping its residents had had time to leave. She was about to try and find a way in, when Mr Gold came in behind her.

 

“What happened?” he asked, truly scared.

“Neighbours called it in… I don’t know anything. I don’t even know if they—”

“They could still…?”

 

She looked at him for a moment, horrified and then startled when he ran to the house as fast as he could.

 

“Gold! Don’t open the door!”

 

Too late. He never had the time to get to the house. Inside, the flames had reached the gas line of the oven and caused a massive explosion which blew the front door open. Emma and Mr Gold both fell from the shock and as they realised what had happened, Emma heard Gold say: “Belle!” She was about to ask about that but the pawnbroker got back up and walked back towards the house.

 

“GOLD!”

 

He didn’t listen and walked into the fire, not even caring for his own safety. The Sheriff ran after him.

 

Once inside, they could barely see anything. The flames were so bright and with all the smoke, it wasn’t just their sight but their breathing that was incapacitated. Mr Gold was already rummaging through the house, lifting furniture with one hand, the other firmly set on his cane. Emma put a hand on his shoulder.

 

“I’ll go check upstairs”, she shouted.

 

She ran up as fast as she could, screaming Rebecca and Dominic’s names. But she had to back down; a part of the staircase had gone up in flames. Back in the living room, she found Gold, still looking around, fighting like a madman with the furniture and wood pieces, in hope to find anyone underneath.

 

“Gold! We’ve got to get out of here!”

 

He wasn’t listening. She hadn’t seen him this intense since she caught him beating up Moe French. Same driven anger, same despair. Same insanity.

 

“Gold!” She grabbed his arm and shook it. “The whole house is going to fall on us! We must get out!”

“Then go. I’m staying!”

 

His voice was harsh and he began to cough, running out of air. Emma took him by the shoulders and dragged him out with all her strength. He resisted, but his coughing worsened and she managed to get him out before the ceiling of the living room crumbled.

 

The firemen had just arrived to see Emma and Gold run out for air. They helped them sit and gave them oxygen. Emma quickly told them what she had seen inside; that they couldn’t find the two – possibly three – residents anywhere. A few firemen ran inside, as some town people had begun to gather in front of the house to see. Emma remembered something from a movie: arsonists usually stick around to watch. Carefully, she looked at everyone’s faces to see who didn’t fit in… and she saw her.

 

“What the hell?”

 

Mr Gold followed the Sheriff’s stare and got up, suddenly full of adrenalin. Emma had to keep up with the crippled man, in case he attacked the object of his hate: Regina was watching the house burn. When she saw Gold coming at her, she kept a straight face.

 

“Where are they?” he asked.

“What? How would I know?”

“You’re behind this. Your people must have planted incendiary devices in the house, when they ‘searched’ it. Where are they?”

“Fire is more your alley than mine, Gold. Everyone here knows you set one in my office.”

“Is that why you chose fire? To frame me?”

“You have no proof.”

 

Emma calmed him down, repeating what Regina had said. “She’s right. Come on, I need you to help me find them.” He stepped back and breathed hard, his throat still burning, and Emma thought the crisis was averted… when suddenly, Gold jumped on Regina, his hand on her throat. He squeezed so hard that the Mayor fell on her knees. Emma tried to pull Gold back but he shoved her off with his cane.

 

“Gold! Let her go!”

“I’m going to be very clear with you, Regina, so there is no misunderstanding.” His voice had the calm sociopathic tone that usually preceded him sending someone to the hospital. “I know you know where they are. You will tell me what happened to them or the Sheriff will have to arrest me for murder.”

 

Emma had let out her gun, but hesitated to use it. She called Gold’s name again, as a warning.

 

“You wouldn’t”, Regina said, desperately gasping for air.

“I wouldn’t? _I wouldn’t_?” He laughed and tightened his grasp on the Mayor’s throat, brandishing his cane. “You know me better than that, _dearie_.”

 

Regina’s face was turning red. She held as long as she could, fighting him off.

 

“Gold, Emma shouted, don’t make me do this!”

“Oh, go ahead, Sheriff! You think I care if you shoot me?” He turned back to Regina, shaking her. “Do you think I care at all?”

 

She choked, tears coming out on her cheeks and then gave up.

 

“Th- they… ”

“Yes?” he asked, softening his grasp a little bit.

“They’re safe…”

“ _All three of them?_ ” She had a slight nod. “Where are they?”

“I don’t know… I swear… I saw them run towards the… forest before you came here.”

 

He tightened his grasp, making her weep. He thought for a second and then spoke very slowly.

 

“Why were you here so early, if you claim you had nothing to do with this?”

 

Some of the witnesses gasped. Gold let go of Regina who coughed on the ground with no one to help her up. He looked at Emma, who was still holding her gun on him.

 

“Here’s your proof, Sheriff… Now if you please excuse me, I have to find my family.”

 

He walked towards the forest, with no consideration for anyone else, his left hand furiously searching for something in his pocket. After making sure the paramedics were taking care of Regina, Emma ran after him.

 

 

A few hours later, they were walking into the Sheriff’s office and Emma kept a worried eye on Gold.

 

“Look, we already searched everywhere around the house and I called Dr Whale three times. They’re not at the hospital.” She changed her coat for a warmer one and got some extra flashlights, and a first aid kit. “I called the diner. Ruby is going to help us. She’s very good, you’ll see; she’s helped me once. We’re going to find—”

 

She stopped. Behind them, Rebecca and Dominic had walked into her office, with Elizabeth French behind them.

 

“Oh my god!”

“I’m sorry, Sheriff, Rebecca said. We didn’t know where to go.”

 

On her neck, Gold noticed the amulet had a slight glow. He knew that, in some way unknown to her, she had used it to find him. Her left wrist was all swollen and purple, possibly broken from a fall. The former couple looked at each other and Gold took the frail woman in his arms.

 

“I’m so sorry, Rebecca…”

“Me too… I thought for sure we would be safe.” She broke the hug and looked at him. “We had to escape through my bedroom’s window. There were fires near both doors, to keep us inside, like someone…”

“Regina confessed. One of her people did it.”

“We can’t use it in court, Emma explained. The confession was… well, it doesn’t matter. We need to take you to the hospital now.”

“No, Rebecca answered in a panic. We can’t go there. Elizabeth… no one can see… No! We need to hide.”

“Where?”

“The only place you will be safe from Regina, Gold said. With me.”

 

Rebecca looked at Elizabeth who had grabbed Dominic’s arm in fear and Mr Gold tried to reassure her.

 

“You will be safe, Elizabeth, I promise… and you will have Rebecca and Dominic to make sure I behave.”

 

Elizabeth looked at Rebecca and had a slight nod.

 

“All right, Emma concluded. I’ll drive.”

 

 

Sir Maurice’s castle

 

The old man had just put flowers on his daughter’s grave and slowly walked back into the castle, sobbing, not knowing he was being watched. Once inside, he sat down alone and cried, cursing the day his Belle met Rumpelstiltskin. Cursing the day he allowed her to go with him. Cursing himself for all that he put her through. He cried for quite some time, not seeing the little man behind him.

 

“I’m so sorry, Belle…”

“Oh, that’s not going to bring her back!”

 

Sir Maurice jumped out of his chair to stare at the object of his hate. Rumpelstiltskin stared back, wanting blood. He had to hold himself with all his might not to turn his love’s father into a snail and crush him with his boot. He was still considering it but first he had to know.

 

“You! What do you want now?”

“Oh, nothing important”, answered the imp with bloodshot eyes, provoking the suffering man.

 

Sir Maurice ran to Rumpelstiltskin and grabbed him by his coat.

 

“You took my daughter from me, you monster! What more could you—”

“What did you say?” The imp shoved the lord through the room with a spell. “You wouldn’t be trying to make me feel responsible for what you did to her now, would you?”

“You poisoned her mind. I tried to free her from you!”

“I… didn’t do… _anything!_ ”

 

Rumpelstiltskin was now on top of Sir Maurice. He grabbed the man by the throat.

 

“I didn’t lock her up in this tower. I didn’t have her tortured until she took her own life. You did all this, not me! I gave you your daughter back and you murdered her!”

“You changed her. You made her miserable! You are as responsible as I am.”

 

Sir Maurice couldn’t protect himself from what hit him. A giant wave of magic threw him on a wall and back on the ground.

 

“How dare you accuse me after you killed her? How dare you say it’s my fault? You are the one who should have kept her safe. _You are her father!_ ”

 

Rumpelstiltskin was now hitting him with his bare hands, filled with rage.

 

“I… I just wanted to… free her mind from your grasp… To free her from you.”

“She _was_ free from me, I let her go!”

“Because you planned something… you didn’t let her go out of kindness, did you?”

 

The beating stopped. Both men stared at each other. Sir Maurice took advantage of this rest to speak his mind. To say all he had to say before the imp killed him.

 

“You play with people… Everyone you deal with… I was warned against you but I didn’t listen. I was told her mind was lost to you, but I still wanted to believe she would come back. I should have done something about it, but I waited. I thought she could snap out if it by herself. And now my daughter is gone.”

“Say that again!”

“What?”

 

The imp repeated the sentence very slowly.

 

“You were _told_ her mind was lost to me?”

“I- I said—”

“Who told you that? WHO SAID THAT?”

“The… the Queen of a kingdom you wrecked! She wanted to save Belle from you!”

 

Rumpelstiltskin twitched.

 

“Regina!... ”

 

Dropping the lord like a useless bag, he took a few steps back and leaned forward on a table. Suddenly, he understood everything. Regina had manipulated Sir Maurice into doing all this to Belle, pretending it would save her. She had then come to him to gloat about what had happened. She didn’t really want to deal that day, or if she did, it wasn’t that important; all she wanted was to see his reaction and enjoy it while she had secretly caused all his pain. To show him she was now powerful enough to take something he loved – in this case, someone – from him.

 

“This horrible WITCH!”

 

Sir Maurice watched in frightened awe as Rumpelstiltskin shoved everything off the table in a fit of madness. Then he leaned on it again to take a breath.

 

“She said you had done a lot of damage in her kingdom and she wanted to help me save my land.”

“And of course, you believed her!”

“I did. I couldn’t find any reason why you would let Belle go.”

“Don’t say her name.”

 

The imp’s voice was more of a whisper. Sir Maurice was startled by it. He dared to take a step towards his enemy, a question burning his lips.

 

“You had what mattered most to me. You had my daughter. You could use her to hurt me. Why would you let her go if you didn’t plan to use her?”

 

Rumpelstiltskin turned and they stared at each other once more. Sir Maurice could see pain in his opponent’s eyes.

 

“Because I loved her.”

“What—?”

“I loved her but I couldn’t keep her. I couldn’t deal with the fact that she loved me too.”

“What? That’s a lie!”

 

Rumpelstiltskin laughed, his eyes filled with tears.

 

“You keep telling yourself that, dearie. The thing that poisoned her mind, the thing that made you hurt her… it was love. And now it’s gone forever. You destroyed it.” He bowed sarcastically. “Congratulations.”

“… Are you going to kill me now?”

“I thought of that… But I won’t make it easy on you. You will live, knowing that all that there was in your daughter’s mind was love for me. You sent her to her death because she loved me… a monster, and you couldn’t tolerate it. And you will live every day of your life remembering this.”

“So it’s the Queen you will kill?”

“Oh, no… I have something better in mind. She took someone I love, I will take someone she loves… Only I won’t manipulate someone else to do it.”

 

Leaving the lord with his questions and his pain, the imp left the castle, his blood boiling with revenge. He knew Regina still had someone she cared for. One person left. Someone he could take in retaliation. And by a lucky coincidence, she was also desperate for revenge.

 

“When I am done with you, dearie, you will rip his heart out yourself.”

 

 

Storybrooke, Maine

 

All the remnants of the incendiary devices were on Emma’s desk and she was sorting through them when Mary Margaret came in, obviously aware of what had happened.

 

“Are these all from the fire?”

“Yup. Firemen gave me all they could find. But with the fire and water… there are no prints, nothing I can use to prove Regina did it. It’s probably not her but someone who works for her, so even if I can find proof…”

“The employee will take the fall for her, like Sidney did with Kathryn’s abduction. She’ll get away with it. Again.”

 

Emma sighed and hit the table.

 

“All that because Gold’s ex-wife wanted to protect a woman he loves. Talk about extreme.”

“Well, Kathryn was her friend and Regina pretended she had been murdered only have me locked up.”

“I know.”

“So where are they now?”

“Mr Gold took them in.”

“Really?... I thought Elizabeth French was still scared of him.”

“Right now, I think she’s more scared of Regina. And Rebecca is friends with him now. She’ll make sure he stays nice or she’ll probably ask Dominic to knock him out.”

 

That remark made them both laugh.

 

 

 

Rebecca was walking back to Mr Gold’s house, her left wrist now in a cast and carrying an umbrella to protect from the rain. She turned the corner and ended up right in front of Regina, coming from the other side of the house. She startled in fear and the mayor smiled.

 

“Miss Toren. It’s good to see you better. After what happened last night.”

“Oh, you mean after you had my mother’s house destroyed?”

 

The mayor’s smile vanished, but she looked more concerned than angry. The anger was there, Rebecca knew it, hidden behind a layer of false sympathy.

 

“I know that’s what Mr Gold thinks, Miss Toren. But he can’t prove it, because it’s not true. I was in the neighbourhood because I wanted to catch Miss French in your house. That’s why I saw everything happen.”

“That’s one of the biggest lies I’ve ever heard”, Rebecca answered, closing her umbrella and holding it in her right hand, leaning on it. “You were there because you want to take Elizabeth back. You want my ex to suffer, but there’s something else, isn’t there? You’re curious about something, curious enough to risk our lives just to prove this thought of yours.”

“I have no idea what you’re implying.”

“Of course not.”

 

Regina startled. Rebecca’s voice had changed again. It was lower, like a murmur, and her facial expressions were like…

 

“Your little tactic failed, Regina. After all this time, you still think you can make me weak. I warned you against attacking the home of ‘Mrs Toren’ and yet you did it.”

 

She couldn’t believe her ears, eyes and mind. Rebecca was there, but she wasn’t. Her voice, her attitude, everything was that of…

 

“Gold?”

 

She had said Gold, but she meant Rumpelstiltskin. Only in his magical evil imp form, could he pull this off. How was any of this possible? Rebecca smiled and Regina felt a chill through her veins. She had just realised that the little woman’s necklace was slightly glowing. Like magic.

 

“I guess I should thank you, dear. By attacking her, you brought us together. The whole family. Which is more than I could ask for right now… Have a good evening.”

 

Rebecca took a few steps towards the house, using the umbrella to walk like a cane. After a few seconds of amazement, Regina walked back to her, grabbed her arm and forced her to turn to her. Slowly, unimpressed, Rebecca faced Regina’s questioning.

 

“What did you mean by that?”

“Oh, I simply meant that by trying to wound us, you have helped us, _dearie_. Now that Gothel’s daughter and I have the same goal in mind, we’ll be more powerful than you can imagine.”

 

She freed herself from the Queen’s grasp and slowly climbed the stairs of the house, still using the umbrella like a cane…

 

Inside the house, on his couch and with the glowing amulet in his hand, Mr Gold got out of his trance the moment his ex-wife came through the hallway. He let out a victorious smile.

 

 


End file.
